Angela GHEORGHIU - Interview about Puccini

[Chanteuredelopera]

I love the Romanian way that she has! Romanians are Latin people of course but with a more melancholy Slavic influence. I LOVE their culture and language!

[alexliliryan]

@Chanteuredelopera Say what? Hey, buddy I'm a romanian and the only slvic influences we got from them was just he comunism introduce by force in 1947, while the all entire world was looking in desmay but doing nothing. For century we had the French influences in our culture, remember? the 'Le petit de Paris in Carpathian mountains" excuse my french. Even mr. Putin apologise to Eastern Europe for the damage the comunism has done to us. No hard feeling; that's just the hystory, now!

[LimaPeruSouthAmerica]

@Chanteuredelopera, as long the austrians nazi are not involve as they do in my life on negative way on many occasions.

[Chanteuredelopera]

I think she is the closest to Callas that we have today! She is really amazing! I am a very big fan and admirer. Brava La Gheorghiu!!!

[LimaPeruSouthAmerica]

@Chanteuredelopera, Her achievement is based on the size of thorax cage and vocal quality also the desire to perform for the best, remember Luciano Pavarotti's size? it is very Italian of you : "Brava La Gheorghiu".

[truvianni]

Well Turandot is perhaps one of the few Puccini operas which does not have a dominant female role yet she is great as Mimi in La Boheme. I have even writen articles about her as Mimi if any would care to read them they can google Gianni Truvianni, Angela Gheorghiu

[SweetFiness]

I also dont think she should sing Turandot. "In Questa Reggia" is NOT "Un bel de vedremo". That "Quel grido e quella morte " is dreadful.

[SweetFiness]

SOrry, but I stopped the video when she said, "Bel Canto is ONLY nice voice..nice technique...personagge not important." Since all love to compare her to Callas, listen to Calls speak on Bel Canto...completely different opinion, therefore a completely different career, and the reason why we have La Divina, compared to a Puccini singer.

Also funny how she thinks Pucci's characters are so special. The great Arturo Toscanini even said Pucci has NEVER had an original idea!

[nachtschatten93]

@SweetFiness so what?? the fact that toscanini said that puccini never had an original idea does not mean that his caracters aren't great, cause they really are, and about bel canto,maria calla's opinion is not a law, so gheorghiu can say whatever she wants cause she is just giving an opinion, and face it!! callas is dead!! so let us enjoy this alive singer, who is one of the greates sopranos that haver ever exist!!

[Aldobrandini]

Obviously, someone with Gheorghiu's gifts and temperament would find the role of Liu far too limiting; this lady needs to take center stage, so why not Turandot? She wouldn't be my first choice in that role per se, but there's more power in Gheorghiu's voice than one might guess. But my favorite role of Gheorghiu's will always be Massenet's "Manon"; what a perfect recording. (Also a very, very demanding role. 5 acts and multiple arias!)

[BaileyGuinea]

She's very Callas-esque. Love her

[amlirco]

@BaileyGuinea Ya, in particular when she says that in Bel canto character is nothing, isn't it?

It seems like she never learned from Callas but of course Angela's the first and only one, you know...

What a gigantic delusion...

[Jenniferhos]

DOes anyone think she sounds a bit like Callas?

[Aquinas40]

@Jenniferhos OH MY GOD, YES. I was just thinking that when I was listening to her. Obviously in Callas' early career when her voice was in good shape.

[raigekimaru]

@Jenniferhos

yes. you can tell that she has listened extensively to Callas for inspiration. of course, she pails in comparison to La Divina (and no doubt knows this herself) but it shows she has good tastes =P

[violinistx100]

@Jenniferhos I know I was like, "Wait a minute is this the right video?" and yep it's Angela. But her singing voice is NO WHERE near Callas, but it's still very great in my opinion.

[Piazzolla6]

Nu e vorba ca sta prost cu limbile straine, sta prost cu intelectul, ea ar trebui doar sa cante ce stie mai bine si sa o lase moale cu interviurile fiindca sunt penibile, din pacate, daca-i spune cineva se supara...nimeni nu are intentia sa o critice in mod gratuit...

[Piazzolla6]

Are voce frumoasa Angela dar nu are clasa si nici nu a fost niciodata capabila sa cante Mozart, Wagner...nu ar rezista nici un act intr-o opera de Mozart, ar fi "pulverizata" dupa primele arii...nu poate canta decat Puccini care e accesibil si placut maselor largi, chiar si necunoscatorilor. Si muzica italiana in general dar cu multe greseli si carente in ultimele ei inregistrari video si audio...

[m0emorex]

Angela Gheorghiu ai voce dar din pacate stai prost la capitolul limbi straine.

[LordMgls]

Thank you for posting this.

[operaman20]

YOU SHOULD NOT BE SINGING TURANDOT!! you are not the voice of Turandot..you could sing Liu!...Not Turandot!

[corellithebest]

Well, I think she can manage very well the Turandot aria In questa reggia, as you can hear. She never said she was gong to sing the entire role. Actually, I've read she is very careful in choosing her repertoire. She doesn't dare to sing Norma, Aida etc. because she is afraid she could ruin her voice. I sometimes even think she is maybe too careful. I think that she developed a strong voice. I agree her voice couldn't bear the whole role of Turandot, but she doesn't plan to sing the whole role.

[andreasscholl]

Agree on the Turandot...I Questa ok...but the whole role...Nilsson could do it.

Sutherland also pulled out of the role in her 40-ies.

Wise choice!

But.....Gheorghiu could be a real Norma.

Shure MORE Belcanto.

[suedash]

@operaman20 well she already did : ) 

[upatoia]

If you like Puccini, check Paul Pottss studio version of Turandots NESSUN DORMA + 40 other operas by 40 other composers in my play list 20th CENTURY OPERAS ( including the world premiere of ARIA DEL CIRUJANO from Opera Opus Operatorum by Roberto Rius & Pedro Ipuche Riva )

20th CENTURY OPERAS : the MOST VIEWED and MOST COMPLETE last century opera playlist in YOU TUBE !

[lalia2001]

Whoah Angela's speaking voice is alot llike the young Maria Callas.

[33blueberries]

Very reminiscent, isn't it.

[lalia2001]

Yes it sure is. I couldn't help but watch this over and over again.

[duaname]

Gorgeous and an incredible artist.

[1986alessandro]

sono un ammiratore di Angèla Gheorghiu per le motivazioni di seguito elencate:

possiede una voce incredibile;

ha una classe e una raffinatezza unica;

una sensualità difficilmente riscontrabile nel mondo della lirica.

alessandro

[delicateblu]

Loved it, thank you!!!!!

[jabberwock01]

She's nothing less than this generation's Callas. It's Japanese of course, not Chinese. The opera's set in Japan, lol.

[trumansf]

She sounds like Maria when she talks.

[deutschesmaedchen]

and Tarja Turunen hehe :P

[trumansf]

Who is Tarja Turunen? I meant La Divina.

[deutschesmaedchen]

I know who Maria is. what I was trying to say was that Angela's accent is very similar to Tarja Turunen's. a Finnish classically trained singer. except that she chose to follow a different genre: rock music. Tarja is the former lead singer of the Finnish symphonic metal band, Nightwish.

[kngiht84]

lol She's wearing a Chinese dress singing Un Bel Di

[sdorr]

One must be careful what one says or writes to AG in English.

I wish her good health.

[33blueberries]

On the contrary, as I would expect from someone with that approach to singing, she is quite intelligent. She just has a less than perfect grasp of English.

[candyperfumeboy2]

what opera is she singing in this interview? Anyone know? Thanks.

[rodnu67]

In the rehearsal with the orchestra she is singing the most dramatic opera from Puccini repertoire. Manon

[SDCmorg]

Make that 'Manon Lescaut'... 'Manon' is by Massenet. :o) (tho it's the same story)

[Cinderella977]

In order are: CHI IL BEL SOGNO DI DORETTA from LA RONDINE. aria from EDGAR, Sì MI CHIAMANO MIMì from LA BOHEME, SOLA PERDUTA E ABBANDONATA from MANON LESCAUT,O MIO BABBINO CARO from GIANNI SCHICCHI, IN QUELLA REGGIA from TURANDOT, UN BEL Dì VEDREMO from BUTTERFLY,

[33blueberries]

In *questa* reggia, from Turandot.

[Cinderella977]

hops! thank you!!!

[CristyS89]

Wtf is wrong with this comment board? the good comments are marked down, and the loser comments are marked up.... you people are f*cked up...

[RozeThornz]

She's Romanian and her first language isn't english. She speaks numerous other languages though.

[amlirco]

Puccini was obsessed with the character not with the soprano. The love to the soprano came afterwards. As far as I know Puccini never wrote for a particular soprano.

To say that Puccini composed a lot for soprano is so silly... he composed only for soprano.

[GliOminiVerdi]

It is silly maybe because she is not so clever to understand... I miss the brilliant callas.

[bkalei]

there's nothing wrong with her english - she expresses herself very clearly. it's certainly not her mother language but she speaks it better than some (many) here in the USA. She is just awesome.

[Allinna2413]

she's romanian :D ..like me

[sdfjklri]

She convinced me !!! Absolutely . Fantastic .!

[Fanaticopera]

She is so adorable! Love the way she speaks,I have no difficulty in understanding her. She speaks 10 (Ten) languages!!! And her voice is outstanding - best soprano at the moment!

[primadonna13]

She sings in 10 languages maybe but she surely does not speak all of them properly and fluently!! I think she speaks 4 though which is still good!!

[emmyelle]

which four are those? romanian, italian, english, and.... french i'm guessing?

[AlexiouValenti]

I think that she speaks those!!But I am not sure exactly!!

[emmyelle]

thanks!

[rubenmsk]

lovely!!!!!!

angela it's one of the best singers of Puccini her color's voice it's perfect for all females roles of this composer.I believe that they should do the interview in another language because angela doesn't dominate very well the English and not express itself very well

[podertres]

I think Angela should not be attack for what she did say in this interview because is crystal clear that she can not express herself clearly in english maybe in italian of french or rumanian (lenguages that she speaks well) she can be more convincing.

[andreasscholl]

I adore her accent!!!!!

[gmihut]

o yes we are the same family.

[cactusflower2005]

vai, ce engleza chinuita are Angela noastra draga... Cu ce greutate isi exprima ideile. Da, are o voce minuanta, dar vorbeste engleza groaznic...

[nlupos]

Dear Angela, at the end I can't see your point. It is all so controversial in your talk. Is Puccini hard to be sung (for you obviously) or the belcanto, or it was all the contrary? It seems it's all of sake of talking and telling 'wise' things. Clear your idea before start singing or in this case talking. You just moves the air.

[alepeccia]

She's trying to say that Belcanto has the difficulty of being sung with a flawless technique, which takes the majority of the effort, while Verismo demands a stronger feeling and interpretation in order to really convey the emotions. They both have their toughness, she didn't wanna say one is harder than the other.

[nlupos]

You see, everything can be said in a few words. Thank you for translating to me her ambiguous talk (English also seems to be a problem for her). Although I cannot of course thoroughly agree with such a point.

[avdosha]

Ahhhh, such a beautiful voice and what a gorgeous Angela!

[VivaCallas]

Don't agree with what she says about bel canto (if it is done properly, there should be just as much emotion, if not deeper emotion), but she's very valid in this video, as she is in the Puccini album (naturally, as she is, IMO, the leading soprano today). Although she never really becomes the characters and is not as spontaneous as she could be in various selections (& is totally pushed in In Questa reggia!), her voice is gorgeous throughout.

[33blueberries]

My interpretation of that segment of the interview is that musically intelligent, technically perfect singing can suffice in bel canto opera, whereas in Puccini, it will be found to be lacking. Bel canto facilitates drama, but not at the cost of the singing. Puccini facilitates beautiful singing, but not at the cost of the drama. That's my take, at the moment.

[singthesilences]

Oh my god, she is singing Turandot, I hope she doesn't do this onstage...

[AliceBathory00]

I love her but I must agree with you, she's wonderful as Liu but Turandot it's just not for her.

[candyperfumeboy2]

Why do you hope that?  I mean, I am just learning about opera and I would like to know your reason behind it. Thanks.

[singthesilences]

Because the role of Turandot is for a dramatic soprano, with a huge top, but her voice is very small, with a lovely color, but very light. The orchestration that accompanies Turandots music is very thick so she could start pushing to cut through, and that's bad...

[AndradaDaciana]

Whose voice is very small? I think you talk about someone else. She is trying to say that for singing Pucini, one must also act, must be able to express feelings, not only a music, but powerfull feelings, adn this is very difficult to obtain when you rich so high notes. Angela Gheorghiu is considered the best in the world at this moment and for her generation. You can not say that she has a small voice!!!

[AlexiouValenti]

Is Angelas voice really that light?? She does Tosca very well !! Her voice does not sound small to me - but then,I have never heard her live!!Anyway I do agree that Turandot is not a good opera for her to do!!

[singthesilences]

She has a light voice, but she, like her husband, likes to take on heavier roles. I have heard her live and her voice is not for Tosca or anything of the sort.

[dacooldl]

Turandot is a GREAT opera for her...if she is singing Liu. She should never, ever sing the title role on stage, or even on record. Her Liu, however, is otherworldly; at least is was the last time I heard her sing it, in 2000. I think she's retired it.

[kincsem1]

mind you she has a massive voice. hearing her live in La Rondine and Simon Boccanegra at the royal opera house she has a very big voice when appropriate to the music- she's perfect, and in the cheap seats at the very top and back, that is a huge auditorium to be able to fill. she's wonderful. Turandot doesn't have much to do compared with Liu, though I agree her Liu is incredibly moving.

[SDCmorg]

the answers to the question (why one would hope Gheorghiu wouldn't sing Turandot) tend to deteriorate into argument about her voice size. But the gist of it is, she's a lyric-spinto, I think... Singing Turandot will likely damage her voice, since it requires her to sing too high and too loudly all opera long.

[tenorinno1]

wonderfull angela / very best artist